Sometimes we can have a love hate relationship with caffeine. The morning boost is great. It kicks our brains into high gear and puts us into a functioning state. But who among us hasn’t felt a little jittery or anxious, maybe even like your heart beating out of your chest after one too many cups of coffee.
What’s really going on when caffeine hits your nervous system? Let’s touch on the science involved.
The Chemistry Behind the Buzz
When you drink that cup of coffee, caffeine doesn’t just magically wake you up. It’s actually playing a clever trick on your brain. Caffeine is shaped closely enough to a chemical called adenosine, a chemical that makes you tired throughout the day. Caffeine blocks the process of our body receiving the signals that make us feel sleepy.¹
For those with heightened anxiety, caffeine doesn’t just block tiredness. Caffeine triggers your fight-or-flight response. It increases levels of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, which can make you feel alert and energized, but also potentially anxious and on edge.²
Why Some People Get More Anxious Than Others
Ever wonder why your friend can drink espresso at 9 PM and sleep like a baby, while you’re still wired from your morning latte? It all comes down to genetics and individual sensitivity.
Some people are “fast metabolizers” of caffeine, which means that their bodies break it down quickly, so they don’t feel the effects as long or as intensely. Others are “slow metabolizers” who might still be feeling that morning coffee well into the evening.³ If you are in the slow metabolizers group, you are more likely to experience anxiety symptoms because the caffeine stays in your system longer.
How much anxiety you experience day to day affects this process as well. If you are already prone to anxiety, caffeine can be like throwing gasoline on a fire. Research shows that people with anxiety disorders are more sensitive to caffeine’s effects and more likely to experience panic attacks when consuming it.⁴
The Anxiety Symptoms You Might Not Connect to Caffeine
We all know about the obvious signs – jitters, rapid heartbeat, that “wired but tired” feeling. But caffeine can trigger other anxiety symptoms. Racing thoughts, difficulty concentrating, restlessness, irritability and digestive issues can occur.
Withdrawal
Something unexpected is that if you are a regular caffeine user, some of your “morning anxiety” might actually be withdrawal symptoms in disguise. When caffeine levels drop overnight, you can experience irritability, difficulty concentrating, and mood changes that feel a lot like anxiety.⁵
This creates a vicious cycle – you drink coffee to feel better, but then you need more and more to get the same effect, and the crashes get worse.
Finding Your Sweet Spot
The good news is you don’t necessarily have to give up caffeine entirely. The key is finding your personal tolerance level. Most research suggests that up to 400mg of caffeine per day (about 4 cups of coffee) is safe for most healthy adults.⁶ If you are anxiety-prone, your limit can be much lower.
Experiment to find your comfort level and track your results. Start small, cut your intake down and see how you feel. Look at your timing. Avoid caffeine after 2PM to avoid sleep disruption. Consume caffeine with food. An empty stomach amplifies the affects. And remember to stay hydrated.
Remember, like anything else, caffeine isn’t inherently good or bad. But it’s worth being mindful about the role it plays with your mood and your anxiety. Pay attention to how your body and your mind respond. Your mental health is worth more than any morning ritual or beverage. We each have unique brain chemistry and it’s important to figure out how caffeine works for each of us. The goal is feeling less anxious and sometimes that involves us tweaking our routine a bit.
References
- Ribeiro, J. A., & Sebastião, A. M. (2010). Caffeine and adenosine. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 20(s1), S3-S15.
- Lovallo, W. R., et al. (2005). Caffeine stimulation of cortisol secretion across the waking hours in relation to caffeine intake levels. Psychosomatic Medicine, 67(5), 734-739.
- Yang, A., Palmer, A. A., & de Wit, H. (2010). Genetics of caffeine consumption and responses to caffeine. Psychopharmacology, 211(3), 245-257.
- Nardi, A. E., et al. (2009). Caffeine challenge test and panic disorder: A systematic literature review. Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics, 9(9), 1407-1412.
- Juliano, L. M., & Griffiths, R. R. (2004). A critical review of caffeine withdrawal: Empirical validation of symptoms and signs, incidence, severity, and associated features. Psychopharmacology, 176(1), 1-29.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2018). Spilling the beans: How much caffeine is too much? FDA Consumer Updates.
